University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, disclosed up to $83 million in alternative and absolute-return commitments from its $17.8 billion long-term endowment pool at its board of regents meeting Thursday.
The commitments were made from October through December to four existing fund managers. UM's investment office has authority to invest in new funds and strategies offered by existing managers, and direct investments that represent less than 1% of the endowment pool, without approval by the board.
The university committed up to $40 million apiece to funds managed by Hidden River Strategic Capital and Kian Capital Partners. Both are credit firms that invest in privately negotiated structured credit instruments in lower-middle-market companies in the U.S. and fall under the board's absolute-return portfolio , according to board documents.
A UM spokesman declined to provide further details about the Hidden River and Kian Capital commitments, or any of the other disclosed commitments.
The university also made a follow-on commitment of $3 million to an existing MHS Capital Partners fund. The commitment was increased "to ensure successful portfolio construction," board documents note. In 2019, the university committed up to $15 million to MHS Capital Partners III, a venture capital fund focused on making investments in seed-stage and early stage companies.
Lastly, UM made a follow-on commitment of $372,500 to an existing fund managed by Sterling Organization, a real estate firm that invests in value-added properties in select U.S. markets.
